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The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

~ SamanthaWho ~ 7 Comments

The Nest There has been a lot of hype around Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel, The Nest, lately. With a gorgeous cover and a description boasting the scandalous affairs of a New York family, I’m not too surprised.

This book is a family drama examining the lives of the Plumbs. The four Plumb siblings are set to receive an inheritance, which they call “the nest”, when the youngest of the siblings, Melody, turns 40 on her upcoming birthday. When the eldest brother, Leo, causes a terrible accident, that trust fund is suddenly at risk. With the inheritance serving as a safety net, the siblings have each gotten into various messes and are depending on that money.

The Nest is a well-written book with complex characters and relationships. The story illustrates the ways that the characters transform, which I enjoyed. The book is told from many points of view including those of the four siblings and the people that they come into contact with. I counted at least 10 throughout the book, but despite the shifts in perspective the story flowed nicely. I particularly liked the portions of the book from Melody’s perspective because they were authentic and I could actually feel the anxiety and pressure she felt to be the perfect mother to her daughters.

The NestI liked this book. The reason why I didn’t love this book is because I didn’t especially connect with the characters. I felt for and was intrigued by them, but that was it. All in all, I do recommend this book as a good read, especially for those who enjoy a fast paced family drama.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

~ SamanthaWho ~ 8 Comments

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall KellyLilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while now and I’m happy to have finally picked it up!

Lilac Girls is set during World War II and tells the stories of three women around the world. The first, Caroline, is an American working in the French consulate in New York City. The next, Kaisa, is a Polish teenager working for the underground resistance who is arrested and sent to a German concentration camp. The last, Herta, is a German doctor who becomes involved with the camps.

I’ve read many books set during World War II and am both fascinated and horrified by the stories, but this is one of the only books I’ve come across that extends so far after the war. By continuing the story more than a decade after the war ended, we were able to see the effects of the war on world.

It was really interesting to read these different perspectives of the war, especially as their stories began to intertwine. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. On the other hand, because there were three separate points of view, the writing felt a bit choppy in the beginning.

Caroline, the character from New York City, really frustrated me at times as well. She was incredibly stubborn when it came to her love interest and pushed him away after all they had been through, causing them to both be unhappy. The person who this character is based on, Caroline Ferriday, played a huge role in helping survivors of the concentration camps and I wish the book and given more emphasis on the impact she had.

A few quotes that I marked while reading:

“I was free of spending my life pleasing them, free to go it alone.”

“’Everyone steals from everyone now. Goods belong to those who can hold onto them.’”

Lilac Girls“…the war was officially over, I did not rejoice. The war continued for us, just under a different dictator, Stalin.”


“How nice is its, when one’s own reputation is damaged, to hear of others’ misfortunes.”

Lilac Girls is a great book and I definitely recommend it, especially for historical fiction fans!

The Viking Hostage by Tracey Warr

~ SamanthaWho ~ 4 Comments

The Viking HostageI was initially drawn to The Viking Hostage by Tracey Warr because I’m really interested in Viking history. The stories of raiding and sailing around northern and central Europe are enchantingly wild and barbaric. I think this started when I began watching the show, Vikings, and I’ve been captivated ever since!

The story takes place in Wales and France during the 10th century. The book focuses on three woman and their intertwining stories. One is a Norwegian woman of Viking descent who has been kidnapped and sold into slavery, another is an heiress to a French fortress, and the last woman is in love with her father’s prisoner. How their stories unfold is what really pulled me in and I really liked each of the them.

Despite liking the plot of the story, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the details of the extensive families and the relationships between them. I kept mixing up characters and the book spans a long time range so it was difficult to keep up with what was going on. By the second half of the book though I felt familiar enough with the characters to follow along easily.

The Viking Hostage I liked The Viking Hostage and thought that the story idea was really strong, but I wish
there had been more engagement early on. This was a slower read for me, but once I was engaged (about halfway through) it was really good.

Happy reading!

 

Free Audiobooks on Spotify

~ SamanthaWho ~ 22 Comments

Pride and Prejudice audiobookA few weeks ago I was delighted to discover that Spotify (a music streaming service) offers free audiobooks! The playlist I saved is filled with literary classics rather than new releases or current popular fiction, which is what I’ve been reading the most of lately. Which of these fantastic stories did I start with? None other than Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice yet… Shocking right?? It’s completely up my alley and I’m trying to find time to correct this grievous error. I was excited to find the story available (for FREE) on the playlist and I use Spotify all the time, so it’s been really easy to switch between music and audiobooks depending on my mood and what I’m working on.

I won’t go into detail about my opinions on Pride and Prejudice in this post other than to say that I absolutely loved the story and it has leaped to the top of my favorite books list. I’ll definitely share my thoughts later on, but I want to read a physical copy of the book first and Pride and Prejudice surely deserves its own post.

I definitely recommend checking out the Audiobooks playlist on Spotify! Along with Pride and Prejudice there are many other classics including, The Great Gatsby, 1984, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Crime and Punishment, and The Secret Garden, just to name a few. Happy listening!

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

The Turner House“Turners seemed incapable of doing anything in moderation.” This was one of the many quotes from The Turner House by Angela Flournoy that stood out to me. Flournoy has successfully created a story that examines the dynamics of a big, complicated, prideful, and loving family. I was very interested in the different roles and relationships between the 13 children, each of whom had a very distinct personality.

When the children claimed to see a supernatural presence one night in the Turner house, their father Francis denies the possibility of a ghost, saying “there ain’t no haints in Detroit.” Years later, when the siblings have become grandparents themselves, the mysterious haint is still present. This is especially true for Cha-Cha, the eldest sibling who took on the paternal role when Francis passed away. When their mother, Viola, becomes sick and the value of the Turner house crashes with the housing market in 2008, the siblings come together to decide how to move forward.

I really enjoyed The Turner House and the role that each of the siblings played, especially the youngest child Lelah. A terribly lonely woman, she’s addicted to gambling and the stillness that it brings her. Although her downward spiral disappointed me, I found myself rooting her on towards recovery. Because there were so many siblings, I had a tricky time keeping them all straight, but that’s to be expected with 13 children in one family.

Here’s one more quote from the book that really struck home with me:

“What parts of their worlds would crumble if they took a great look at their parents’ flaws? If there was no trauma, why not talk about the everyday, human elements of their upbringing?”

I definitely recommend The Turner House for a thought provoking read! Enjoy!

The Turner House

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar

~ SamanthaWho ~ 9 Comments

Vanessa and Her SisterIn Vanessa and Her Sister, Priya Parmar has brought the members of the famous Bloomsbury Group to life in this powerful novel. The group is filled with incredibly talented intellectuals, artists, and writers in the early 1900’s. Within the Bloomsbury Group are the sisters, Victoria Woolf and Vanessa Bell, and that is whom this story centers around.

The story is told from Vanessa’s perspective and revolves around the very strange and intriguing relationship between the sisters. Vanessa is the elder sister and while she is calm, grounded, and wise, Virginia is brilliant, unstable, and constantly seeking Vanessa’s full attention. Throughout the book we see how far Virginia will go to be closer to Vanessa…

I also loved the way that Parmar brought Lytton Strachey to life with an outrageous personality and charming dialogue. I adored his character.

Vanessa and Her Sister was filled with so many insightful and powerful quotes that I couldn’t pick just one! Here are a few of my top picks:

“…It is a narrow precipice with Virginia. Too much affection given to someone else and she can topple over, too little and she gloats.”

“I worry that life is always in the future and that I am always here, in the preamble straightening up the cushions so that life will go smoothly once it does begin.” 

“Affection is so much easier to give when it is not owed.” 

“In my deep bones, I have always known that Virginia is in love with me.” 

“…She basks in my protectiveness, but it only spurs her on to recklessness.”

“’Hope is an unbreakable habit.’”

Priya Parmar has done an incredible job bringing this time period and these people to life in a beautiful narrative.

I received a copy of Vanessa and Her Sister from Random House in exchange for an honest review.

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg

~ SamanthaWho ~ 8 Comments

The Ice PrincessI’ve been waiting to read The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg for a while now, the eerie blue cover taunting me every time I pass my bookshelf. I don’t know what I was waiting for though because this book is a great mystery novel! One filled with seemingly unconnected characters and horrifying hidden secrets, I couldn’t put it down.

A scandal rocks Fjällbacka, Sweden, when a woman is found dead in her childhood home with her wrists slit open. No one knows what Alex was doing back in her hometown and why she would take her own life until details come out that it couldn’t have in fact been a suicide. Erica Falck, the childhood best friend of Alex, is coincidentally in town when the tragedy hits and is quickly pulled into the murder investigation. The more she learns, the more Erica realizes that Alex has changed in their 25 years apart, becoming distant and elusive over time. Clues pointing to the killer elude police until Patrik, a local detective, and Erica work together to piece together the mystery. As the story goes on, it’s clear that this murder isn’t the only scandal in the small town’s history…

A novel full of characters and storylines, I was fully engaged until the very last page in an effort to sort out how each story is intertwined. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read many more by Läckberg in the future!

At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

~ SamanthaWho ~ 13 Comments

At the Water's EdgeThis is one of the books that helped build my love for Scotland, its green countryside, and the lively people. Sara Gruen, the author of Water for Elephants, has returned with another great book, At the Water’s Edge.

The story centers around Maddie, a young woman from high society Philadelphia. During World War II, she travels to Scotland with her husband and his best friend in an attempt to locate the Loch Ness monster, following a trail left by her father-in-law. After behaving poorly at a party, Maddie and her husband, Ellis, hope that finding the mystical monster will win back his favor.

Maddie has grown up in a very restrictive environment, bound by the rules of society and distant parents, but doesn’t realize how much so until she arrives in Scotland. The Scottish barmaids and inn owner open her eyes to an entirely different world and she finds herself drawn to it. In the Scottish countryside she also finds out that the man she married may not be who she thought he was. Her charming husband turns out to be a nasty brute while a new man in Scotland may win her heart instead.

At the Water’s Edge has a snowball effect, picking up speed as the story goes on. With an intense ending, I was gripping the book until the very last page. I really liked the story and found myself rooting for Maddie the whole time!